Ah the pure fun of flying a new kite.
True Blue Kite Team (BKT) 8' Rokkaku by Jim Powers, on Flickr
After 4 years of extensive use with my red and yellow 8’ Rokkaku kite I reached out to my friend (and fellow KAPer) Piotr Madry to sew me a new and updated Rokkaku kite sail to serve as one of my primary Kite Aerial Photography (KAP) kites. This is a bit of a team effort. Piotr does the sewing (still trying to convince my wife (who is a seamstress) to try kite making….. I do all the framing using SkyShark P400 / P4X camo wrapped carbon tubes. The photos below show the process of framing the kite.
True Blue Kite Team (BKT) 8' Rokkaku
The updated Rokkaku kite includes the new ERBKT 6-point bridle. The bridle design is a mix of ideas from Erich Chew (KAPer from Singapore) and Piotr Madry (KAPer from Poland). The main goal of the update bridle is to provide superior stability and the ability to handle higher wind speeds and gusts.
Rokkaku kites with a normal 4 point bridle sometimes can become a sky anchor sinking lower and lower in the sky and pulling like a truck as the kite takes on extreme loads…..not a fun situation to be in (especially with a KAP rig on the line).
The new ERBKT bridle has 4 top attachment points and two bottom (standard Rokkaku) attachment points. The photos below show the bridle. A full discussion on the ERBKT bridle can be found here on this KAP forum. http://arch.ced.berkeley.edu/kap/discuss/index.php?p=/discussion/5509/bkt-rokkaku-10-5-vs-8-5/p3
Top 4 point ERBKT Bridle - with True Blue Kite Team (BKT) 8' Rokkaku by Jim Powers, on Flickr
True Blue Kite Team (BKT) 8' Rokkaku by Jim Powers, on Flickr
Top 4 point ERBKT Bridle - with True Blue Kite Team (BKT) 8' Rokkaku
The photos below show the new blue BKT 8’ Rokkkau compared to the 4-year-old red and yellow BKT 8’ Rokkaku kite. The new blue Rokkaku is a tad larger (mostly wider).
True Blue Kite Team (BKT) 8' Rokkaku by Jim Powers, on Flickr
The maiden flight was a success over the Wind Watcher proving grounds. See a few photos and videos below.
Maiden Flight - True Blue Kite Team (BKT) 8' Rokkaku by Jim Powers, on Flickr
Maiden Flight - True Blue Kite Team (BKT) 8' Rokkaku Video:
Maiden Flight - True Blue Kite Team (BKT) 8' Rokkaku by Jim Powers, on Flickr
Maiden Flight - True Blue Kite Team (BKT) 8' Rokkaku
The new blue 8’ BKT Rokkaku will be moved up to the front line for KAP flying after the completion of 10 hours or so of flight testing over the Wind Watcher proving grounds.
The new kite just fits into my kite shed and is waiting for fair winds to continue testing.
Thank you Piotr for the fine quality work! I am looking forward to many fun flights ahead.
Enjoy the photos and videos. https://www.flickr.com/gp/wind-watcher/g8065s
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